LINO LAKES—In a matter of seconds, everything can change. That was the case for 37-year-old Marsha L. Taylor.

Taylor, a bicycling guru and McDonald’s manager, had just gotten back home from the U.S. Tour and decided to take a short ride, when suddenly things went sour. “I was riding down 72^nd Street almost to South Boulevard when a car hit me from behind and sent me flying off my bike,” said Taylor. “That’s all I remember until I was in the hospital.”

Taylor sustained many injuries including: a mild concussion, a broken neck, six broken ribs, a broken arm and a broken pelvis. The doctors at Mercy Hospital were worried about her condition because there were so many bones broken. “The broken neck concerned them the most,” said Taylor. One doctor told Taylor that is was a miracle she wasn’t paralyzed.

Recovery was the next step for Taylor, but it didn’t go well. She explained that things just got worse while doing rehabilitation. The doctors found some internal injuries; a perforated intestine and liver and gall bladder damage as well. The internal damages caused her skin to turn orange and her mother called her a “Halloween” pumpkin. The recovery time doubled from two months-to-four months and Taylor still goes to the rehabilitation facility three times every week.

Taylor’s attitude towards bicycling has not changed stating, “No. I still want to ride. If I could, I’d be out there right now, but it’s hard to ride a bike when you have to use crutches. If you take precautions and are careful, bicycling is pretty safe.” The major precaution is to wear a helmet at all times while on a bicycle, “It probably saved my life this time,” she said.

Taylor has been riding since college and started riding seriously after she graduated. She got into the sport mainly to kill time between job interviews and to keep in shape. Taylor rode roughly 3,500 miles this past year; riding across not only Minnesota, but the whole country. The sport has turned into a major part of her life saying that, “I can’t imagine what my life would be like without bicycling.”

U.S.-Canada Game Sets Record for Viewers

The U.S.A. men's hockey team played Canada this past Sunday. The American team won 5-3, but Canada won in the viewer count. At one point, 13 million Canadian viewers watched the game and on average there were 10.6 million viewers. In the U.S., the game was seen by an average of 8.22 million viewers.

Original article:

http://vancouver2010.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/02/22/u-s-a-canada-game-sets-record-for-viewers/?ref=sports

Obituary

Joseph Richard Schmitz, a distinguished business man and a loving husband father of two sons, died yesterday,at age 89, of natural causes. "He came into this world with nothing and left with everything, happily," said his oldest son Jobin. "My dad was a respected man, not only by his co-workers and colleagues, but by us, his family."

Joseph grew up playing sports, he was a starting football and baseball player at his high school in Lino Lakes, Minn. He then went on to play football at the University of Minnesota, where he found his love for the business industry and for his wife, Amy. Joseph and Amy started their own business together and hit it big; starting the well-known casino chain Ace High.

Joseph left behind his fortune to his two sons; Jobin and Pete. The service will be held from 12-4 p.m. Saturday Feb. 19, 2010 at the Strandford & Son's funeral home in Blaine, Minn.

Journal Entry

An 18-year-old man, Aramis Diamante-Sanitino Gaither, shot his 45-year-old father, Anthony Tyrone Gaither. Aramis's parents were arguing and Aramis claims he was protecting his mother. Aramis shot his father six times outside of their home in St. Paul, Minn. Aramis is currently awaiting trial on intentional second-degree murder.

Original article:

http://www.twincities.com/ci_14411052?nclick_check=1

Story 2

ANOKA COUNTY—Anoka County Sheriff, Gus DiCesari, and several Anoka County commissioners met to discuss funds on Feb. 11, 2010, but when the situation got heated, conversation turned from fiscal issues to immigrant issues.

DiCesari accused the county commissioners of “shortchanging” the county sheriff’s department to save money, saying “You’re putting the lives of the people of this county in jeopardy.” Sheriff DiCesari wanted eight new department vehicles and five new deputies, which would cost roughly 580-thousand dollars.

Commission President Anne Chenn said that the county does not have the money to buy new police cruisers and to hire five new deputies. Chenn stated that the county’s budget was $127 million and that $30 million had already been spent on a new prison to alleviate crowding. Also, the county had to spend more money due to the increased cost of fuel and health care Chenn said.

Supporting Sheriff DiCesari, Commissioners Anita Shenuski and Raymond Laybourne stated that the county should spend more on the sheriff’s department and law enforcement programs, rather than programs for migrant workers that simply come to the county to work.

After that statement, things got heated between Shenuski and Chenn; Shenuski then saying “We never had problems until we began letting migrants into this county to work. They are a problem for our law enforcement, our schools and our healthcare system.”

Chenn countered by saying, “Those people who come here to work are decent, hardworking people being employed at jobs that local residents don’t want to do. They add a great deal to the economy and they pay taxes. You are being a hypocrite when you to blame those people for everything.”

Commissoner Jose Gardez , supporting Chenn, claimed that many of the migrant workers become permanent members of the county, opening businesses and eventually earning citizenship. And of the five-thousand migrant families in Anoka County, most work in agricultural, construction and service industry jobs.

Once the immigration argument was settled, Chenn told DiCesari that the sheriff’s department would have to make due for this year as the commissioners voted against the sheriff’s request 5-2.

Journal Entry

Costa Ricans elected their first female president, Lauren Chinchilla. She won 47 percent of the vote, and both other candidates conceded before 10 p.m. on Sunday. The global economic crisis pushed Costa Rica into a recession last year, and Chinchilla is expected to help the economy grow this year.

Original article:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/09/world/americas/09costarica.html?ref=todayspaper

First day..

This journal entry won't be too exciting, especially since I never have actually been to the ARCC campus. The only class's I am taking are online and ordered my books online as well.

I wish I had a fun story about how I got lost and scrambled into my first class tardy, however, I do not. It's hard to be late for a class you're taking online.

Although, this is how I would picture my first day at ARCC. I would arrive to the school roughly twenty minutes before my first class starts. I then would have looked around to see if saw any familiar faces, when I didn't, I would walk alone to my class with a false sense of excitement. After arriving to my class, I would probably get bored (since it's the first day) and lose interest quickly. I would continue to all of my classes that day with virtually the same routine, hoping no homework would follow. That was my hypothetical first day, just about as lame as the truth huh?

Journal Entry

In the month of January, Toyota's sales dropped, while other automakers' sales rose. Automakers compare every January to see where their sales are at. Toyota's Camry dropped 24 percent from the month a year ago. While Ford estimated that sales increased 16 percent in this year’s January.

Original article:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/03/business/03auto.html?ref=business